Biographies and Autobiographies

Korky Paul: An Autobiography of an Illustrator
by Teresa Heapy
(Heinemann Discovery World)
An interesting biography of Korky Paul, illustrator of Winnie the Witch. A visually attractive book with simple sentence constructions about 4/6 per page plus captions. Includes a family tree, timeline and index.
Links to family histories, art and book weeks.
KS1/KS2
24 pages    ISBN 0435094750

The Life and Work of Vincent Van Gogh
by Sean Connolly
(Heinemann Library)
A biography of Vincent Van Gogh which talks about how he felt at different stages of his life and looks at how his paintings show these feelings. Illustrated with colour drawings and plenty of reproductions of his work. 3 or 4 sentences per page. Includes timeline, glossary, more books to read, more paintings to see and an index.
Links to art
KS1/early KS2
ISBN 0431091943

Memories: An Autobiography
by Mem Fox
(Rigby Magic Bean)
An autobiography of Australian author, Mem Fox, many of whose books are available in this country (see an Amazon list here). There is a considerable amount of text per page with good emphasis on how a writer works including the difficulty of getting published and the need for extensive rewriting. Includes a list of her books, a timeline and a family tree but no index.
Links to family history and book weeks
KS2
16 pages    ISBN 1863740252
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Pilawuk When I was Young
by Janeen Brian
(Rigby Magic Bean)
The childhood memories of a half-aborigine woman who was taken away from her mother by the government to be brought by non-aborigines. This is a poignant account of her feelings of not belonging and her eventual reunion with her family. Illustrated with photos and maps. Has a glossary but no index.
Warning This thought provoking book is likely to raise deep issues for children who are themselves fostered, adopted or in residential care. It would be better not to use this book in a class that contains such a child but if you have to or do so unknowingly, please do not ask the child to talk about their own experiences in the classroom.
Links to geography
KS2
16 pages    ISBN 1863742565
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Queen Elizabeth I
by Rachel Bell
(Heinemann Library)
The first 15 pages of this book recount Elizabeth's life story while the rest describes resources we can use to find out about her. These include paintings, books, artefacts and buildings. There is a glossary and a very small index which takes up less than a quarter of a page. A useful but not outstanding book.
Links to history
KS2
32 pages     ISBN 0431325088